Sammy McIlroy – Nice Day for a Sulk

Oxford chief Chris Wilder appears to be an enthusiastic and approachable guy and despite the fact that Morecambe manager Sammy McIlroy has been in the game a lot longer, the Irishman could do worse than taking lessons in courtesy from him.

Following their 4-0 trashing, McIlroy opted to send keeper Barry Roche to speak to the media. Frankly, Roche had endured a bad afternoon through no fault of his own and didn’t need the extra hassle of giving the honest opinion that “we were an embarrassment” and “Oxford were better than us all over the pitch”. Surely fronting up to the media is the manager’s job. It comes with the territory.

Managers who see the media as an annoyance rather than conduits to the fans who wish to hear from them are misguided. By snubbing the media, you are basically turning your back on the fans. And after a 4-0 thumping, the fans – who, unlike reporters and managers, actually pay hard cash to travel and watch the games – deserve some sort of explanation.

I had been talking to Wilder and the Oxford players pitch side while Roche was led three flights up to the media room like a man on his way to the gallows. Consequently I even missed his honest assessment at first hand while McIlroy went A.W.O.L.

Once I had finished chatting to the Oxford boys I headed off to find McIlroy who I had heard was on the team bus. I was hoping that after a cooling down period he might decide to say something.

Unfortunately he was still seething or sulking and passed the message (via one of his staff) that I should speak to Roche who they claimed was still inside the stadium.

I was fairly certain that, by this time, Roche had already made it on to the team bus and, sure enough, no sooner had I turned away than the bus door closed and it pulled away.

Childish.

At some point in the not too distant future McIlroy might wonder why the press aren’t giving him a bit of a break as the pressure builds. And while I have little to do with Morecambe personally, I’m sure that the local media will be a little less understanding if this is the way they are treated by him every time Morecambe get a dicking.

It’s not a case of vendettas being fulfilled. It’s just human nature isn’t it? If you treat someone like dirt then don’t expect any favours when the heat is on. Sir Alex Ferguson isn’t the only one with a long memory.

Some wise words from Wilder following his side’s 4-0 win on Saturday:

“We started the game really well and scored two great goals. Maybe later in the game - because we’ve not had our first win - we got a little bit edgy, but I’m delighted for everybody. It’s the first win back in the Football League and we’ve just got to make sure we keep this standard up and keep going.

Ryan Clarke didn’t have a great deal to do, but when we were two-nil up he made a fantastic save and while it wasn’t a turning point in the game - because we looked comfortable - there are a lot of young players out there, so it settled everyone down.

Beano (James Constable) getting his hatrick will do him the world of good.

I thought the first 20 to 25 minutes we were exceptional as we were in the last 20. We moved the ball about, popped it about and created chances. Sometimes it’s just about getting that first win. I’ll admit we were getting a little edgy this week wanting it.

In the last 15 - when they got the boy sent off - it opened up and we went looking to score a third and fourth, but it was important that we just got the win to boost the confidence of everybody including the supporters.”